Foodie Shopping Frenzy

Its amazing what an expiring groupon can spawn. I had purchased one sometime last year for The Meat House in Brookline, thinking that it would be interesting to see a real upscale butchery. Since am email came telling me the sucker was about to expire, I figured it was high time to find out and since I would have to make the drive through crazy city traffic to get there anyway, it might as well be worth my while. So began the planning on the great foodie shopping frenzy.

Since I am me, aka slightly ocd and overly in love with tech I first looked up all the places I've been meaning to go but haven't because its clear across the other side of Boston and I abhor city driving. I then google mapped them all, moving around the destinations as necessary until I had found the most time/distance efficient route through them all. Then I punched them all in proper order into my GPS.

The first stop was meant to be The Meat House but on the way there I passed by TJ's. Unable to resist and figuring it would save me a visit to the health food store in Quincy Center later for a refill of my beloved Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, I stopped by. After stocking up on that as well as some baggies of frozen fruit and the frozen tamales I so love, I browsed around a bit and found some awesome new goodies. Frozen leeks! Frozen asparagus spears! In the cart they went and out the door I went.

The Meat House was a great little shoppe. A little TOO upscale almost to feel like a butcher shop. It was more of a specialty shop with a frozen section boasting such yummies as venison loin, calf's live, and duck breast. The glass cases were filled with a selection of beef with such expensive delicacies as kobe and aged and manned by friendly guys who definitely knew their stuff. I watched as they talked customers through selecting cuts to simple cooking directions to pairing with side dishes and wines available in shop. There was also a wide selection of sausages and to the side, pre-marinated in easy to tote home baggies of poultry and steak tips. I've always been a fan of seasoning my own food. One person's delicious is another's too salty. The shelves were full of seasoning and sauce choices as well as anything you might need to complete a restaurant worthy meal including pasta, rice for risotto's, cheeses, wine, sides, and PICKLES! Unable to resist I picked out a jar of fancy pickles, had the nice man pull me a rib eye steak, a couple of short ribs, and grabbed a frozen alligator steak from the fridge.

Next I headed up towards one of my old favorites, Babushka's Deli. There I indulged in a craving I've been having for months now, salmon caviar. Its not the fancy beluga stuff but I personally like it. A bit briny and paired with some of the shop's russian style sour cream (extra creamy, extra fat!, and not so sour), its heaven on a blini. Along with this insanity I also picked up a half pound of head cheese. The kindly russian aunty (they will always feel like one to me with their warm smiles at the crazy asian) pointed out they had three kinds and when I asked which was the best, immediately grabbed the medium with what appeared to be big chunks of cheek meat embedded in clear collagen gel. None of the usual mystery organs and gristle I was used to. Back in the car again I sneaked a slice as I was beginning to starve. I immediately regretted my purchase. The meat was tender and the collagen soup wonderfully spiced. I should've gotten more! Since I was already well on my way to becoming the piggy it was likely created from I reluctantly moved on.

Maneuvering the unfamiliar streets of Belmont I found a treasure I had long since wanted to visit first hand after hearing the many murmurings of its greatness: Sophia's Greek Pantry. In it I found the one ingredient I wanted to meet this week's food challenge, gigante beans. They are giant white butter beans. I had first tasted them in small glass jars from Trader Joe. They are tender and made for a delicious snack at room temp. I wanted to make my own but had been unable to find the beans. They are pricey but I hoped, worth it. Since I was in the supposedly greatest of greek shops, I purchased as well baklava, moussaka, stuffed grape leaves, and their own home made yogurt. I can tell you now that while the first three did not compare to my friend's greek mom's home made deliciousness, they were miles above anything I've had around here in restaurants no matter how fancy or high the price tag. The yogurt however is worth the trek. Its less tangy and more creamy than anything sold in the supermarkets. I see myself crying a little when I'm down to the last bite.

For my last stop, I could not resist re-visiting and old favorite: Russo and Sons Market. Around here, especially in the winter frozen absence of farmer's markets, good produce is hard to come by. There's always Whole Foods but frankly, I don't eat that much and still my pay check isn't big enough to cover the bill. Russo has what I consider to be even better quality and certainly a much better variety. Its produce also seems less perfect waxed and fake. I had been dying for some delicious veggies so I stocked up. Rutabagas, beets, apples, asian pears, melons, chard, tiny fingerling potatoes of all kinds, squash and more. I also picked up a slab of afghan flat bread and a small wedge of real pecorino romano (its cheese and bakery selections are fantastic btw as are fresh flowers should you need some).

Having filled my trunk I headed home with happy thoughts of fatness to come. I'm going to have to step up my work outs...